A new poll suggests almost two-thirds of Canadians believe Canada could support a seventh NHL team, but most doubt Jim Balsillie’s attempt to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to Southern Ontario will succeed.

Nationally, 63 per cent of respondents to The Canadian Press Harris-Decima survey said another NHL team could thrive in Canada, while 19 per cent disagreed.

The confidence was widespread—77 per cent of respondents in Alberta, 73 per cent in British Columbia and 66 per cent in Ontario thought Canadians could support another NHL franchise.

But most respondents also said the Blackberry wizard’s attempt to buy the bankrupt Coyotes won’t fly.

Overall, 41 per cent said it was unlikely Balsillie’s bid, now before a U.S. court, would succeed, while one in three (34 per cent) said it was likely Balsillie would be successful.

About Goal Line Report

Patrick has a tremendous passion for hockey. Besides covering the Rangers and the NHL for Kukla's Korner, you can also find Patrick's work over at Sportsnet.ca, The Red Light District Hockey Blog, NHL Home Ice, and Liam Maguire's Ultimate Hockey web site.

Prior to writing for the above mentioned outlets, you could find Patrick's musings at hockey web sites/outlets such as TheHockeyNews.com, TheFourthPeriod.com, Spector's Hockey, Hokeja Vestnesis, Blueshirt Bulletin, SNYRangersBlog.com and many more.